Jake O'Brien vs. Christian Wellisch in works for UFC 94

http://mmajunkie.comAfter suffering the first two losses of his professional career, heavyweight Jake O’Brien (10-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) will look for a return to the win column when he meets Christian Wellisch (8-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) at UFC 94.

Sources close to the fighters told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the bout is close to being finalized.

UFC 94, which features a UFC welterweight title fight between current 170-pound champ Georges St. Pierre and 155-pound champ B.J. Penn, takes place Jan. 31 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

O’Brien, a former Purdue University wrestler, began his career with 10 consecutive wins, which included a 3-0 mark in the UFC. The 10th win came in a stunning unanimous-decision upset of Heath Herring in the PRIDE veteran’s January 2007 UFC debut.

However, O’Brien then met former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski earlier this year at UFC 82. With Arlovski fighting the last bout of his contract, the fight was buried on the night’s un-televised preliminary card, and O’Brien suffered a second-round TKO. He was dropped from the organization after the loss, and O’Brien was then scheduled to fight for a Palace Fighting Championships show. However, when the UFC decided to counter Affliction Entertainment’s debut show with UFC Fight Night 14, O’Brien instead returned to the UFC but suffered a first-round TKO to undefeated American Kickboxing Academy heavyweight Cain Velasquez.

O’Brien will now meet another AKA product in Wellisch, who made his UFC debut in 2006 and suffered a first-round knockout to Cheick Kongo. However, he then posted wins over Anthony Perosh and UFC newcomer Scott Junk in 2007. After an eight-month break, Wellisch met another UFC rookie — stand-out Shane Carwin — and suffered a 44-second knockout at UFC 84 in May.

For the latest on UFC 94, including the latest rumored fight card, check out the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

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